Category Archives: Music connects us all

News from ‘om

Posted on by
Reply

The other day we saw a great space saving device on Facebook; someone had put their seed trays on a shoe rack. Unfortunately, we haven’t got a shoe rack on hand, and the kitchen window is well full. We found this rack thing in the street a few months ago knowing it will come in handy soon, and it did! It’s holding up some Moneymaker tomatoes and some marvel of Peru seedlings. Below are a few different varieties of basil which we sowed today.

We’re trying to find time to tidy up the wild bit and going to fill the now weed-free area around the penstemons and love-in-a-mist with some wildflower seeds. The window frame that once had glass in it is now used to shield some plastic seed covers so they don’t blow away. Waste not, want not, part 33!

A report from France

Posted on by
2

A big thanks to Spike from Morschen43 for sharing more photos of his garden in Le Puy-en-Velay, France. As you can see, looking at the pictures (aboove and below), a hell of a lot work has been done over the last couple of weeks and there’s a nice new fence up as well. Sterling work Spike!

If you can remember what the garden was like (below) before the pickaxe, fork and shovel were applied and when it was full of couch grass and dandelions (here), all we can say is “Wow!”

And there’s been a massive bit of pruning on his Granny Smith’s apple tree (below)). Spike was gifted the tree by his grandmother for his 13th birthday and it’s now 35 years old. Here are the before and after pictures of the big cut. It does look a bit severe, but it did need it and we are sure it will grow back fine.

We found out the gardening runs in the family as Spike’s father was a market gardener and swore by gardening using the moon. It’s been a long time since we used the Biodynamic method and Maria Thun‘s Book here but perhaps we will revisit it and give it a try. What have we got to lose?

Cheers for the great pictures of your garden again Spike and keep them coming!

And thanks a million to Spike for playing Jasmine & Madtone’s “Open up your heart” at 50.08 minutes in on his Vampire Freaks radio show here (N°365) here.

A report from north of the river

Posted on by
Reply

Cheers to Debby H for getting in touch and for letting us know that things are starting to hot up in the garden. “We have germinated about 30 dwarf sunflowers which will need to be potted soon. Also, our tomato plants have finally started to shoot.” Brilliant.

“The cosmos are ready to be planted in pots and put in the cold frame. We have already put some in our plastic greenhouse. We are going to see which environment they prefer.” Great stuff! Please let us know the outcome of that Debby.

She also mentions a plant we have never heard of before (pic above). “Last year our neighbours gave us some plants that we think are called Doronicum. We had seen them giving a good display in our neighbours’ garden and praised them, so they gave us some which we planted last autumn. They are all now beginning to flower. Lots of buds there.” They look a lovely flower!

We look forward to more reports Debby!

An oldie but goody

Posted on by
Reply

We don’t usually go back in the archives for mixes but found this one by accident this evening. One Deck Pete‘s “Bouncing off the ionosphere” mix which was transmitted on Free Radio Skybird via Channel 292 on 6070 kHz on 8th December 2019.

Tracklistings:
UKDD & Spoonbeats – It’s time to tell you
KoKo – keep down
Maxime Tisne-Versailles – Roi De Plaines
AMY Root – Elif(OIJ_remix)
Ernest freeman – Live it up

It’s been years since we’ve heard these tunes especially the wonderful Maxime Tisne-Versailles tune Roi De Plaines. Sometimes those old ones come back to haunt you.

 

Destination: all over the map

Posted on by
Reply

This weekend there was a edition of Skybird Radio International featuring DJ Frederick and Justin Patrick Moore, who journeyed all over this globe of ours in an all genre style. You don’t need a passport, or carry over-packed suitcases to go on this international musical coach trip as itwas transmitted over those shortwaves and now on Mixcloud:

 

At 3.38 there’s a mix from One Deck Pete and here’s the tracks:
Madtone – Diamonds in the sky (excerpt – full track here)
Les Maîtres Fous – La Mort d’Icare
Aselefech Ashine & Getenesh Kebret – Wegenne
Narcy – Nehaya
Wilmoth Houdini – Blow Wind Blow
Unknown Track off “Cantos Oscuros” from Little Axe Records

And Justin Patrick Moore played this obscure one from Jodie Foster, released in that heady year of Punk, 1977.

A heavy duty gardening report from France

Posted on by
Reply

Thanks to Spike from Morschen43 for sharing photos of the back-breaking work he’s undertaken in his garden in Le Puy-en-Velay in France this week (more on his great garden here). Seeing the couch grass dandelions and the pickaxe, fork and shovel, we’re breaking into a sweat just looking at the pictures. As he told us “The most used tools used in the work were a fork and a spade”. You’ll all agree he’s done a great job to say the least after looking at the “after” pictures at the bottom of this blog post!

Cheers for keeping us updated and we’d love to see how the garden progresses throughout the year. You’ve done well this week Spike and we are never going to complain again about working hard in our garden looking at these pictures!

Influenced by Bob (sort of)

Posted on by
Reply

It was funny old weather in SE23 yesterday, it started misty and kept like that for most of the day, followed by some sunshine at lunch and then by tea-time the mist had returned and it felt rather wintery.

At lunch we nipped out and did half an hour out in the back. We sowed some wildflower seeds in one of the raised beds and some veg in another and stuck some polythene on the top which we were going to throw out.

Earlier this week we saw on Facebook, Bob Flowerdew in his veg patch (that looked like the size of a normal back garden!). He was explaining that before the winter he put a load of organic material on the soil then slung some black covering over the patch. Over the winter it rotted away now leaving the beds a bit richer and weed-free rather then they would have been if he had just left them exposed.

We reckon that’s a great idea, but what would the neighbours think if half our garden was covered with a black tarpaulin (the likes of which goes over a car on bricks on a driveway). A few sheets of plastic over raised beds are enough for us. Hope all’s well in everyone’s garden and with any seeds that may be germinating! Pictures please.